Public views sought on revised Bromsgrove taxi plan

A CONSULTATION on the proposed Worcester Road taxi rank was given the go-ahead by Bromsgrove District Council’s licencing committee on Monday (March 18).

Officers will now be collecting public views, on the application for the next 28 days.

The proposal has already received plenty of support from all its stakeholders, including West Mercia Police’s traffic management advisor, Worcester County Council’s senior traffic management engineer and Bromsgrove Taxi Association’s chairman.

It involves creating six or seven new loading bays outside Neales Garage which would be operational between 11pm and 5am.

During the day, between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Saturday, the parking area would remain available for the use of the general public for 30 minutes, with no return within a hour.

The new rank would be expected to mainly act as a feeder, allowing people to enter the vehicles from the pavement instead of the road.

The current management of Love2Love has also shown its support of the proposal and offered to provide marshals to help manage the taxi queues, if the application is granted.

The county council’s highway unit has said it would not take long to establish the rank as they would not need to change or amend any existing Traffic Regulations Orders.

Lee Eacock, the Bromsgrove Taxi Association’s chairperson, said the proposal which was presented was the only practical and workable application for the taxi trade and respected the businesses and residents on Worcester Road.

He added: “The Taxi Association has worked very hard with all the relevant departments and with other bodies outside the council framework, to find a workable solution that ensured there was an adequate amount of taxis at the busiest times so the Worcester Road area could be cleared as quickly and as effectively as possible whilst putting the safety of the general public first.”